In April 2023, our research team had the opportunity to conduct fieldwork in – inarguably– one of the most beautiful places on Earth, Grand Canyon National Park. While I had experienced nearly everything we had planned in one way or another, such as camping in cold weather, hiking in the Grand Canyon, and conducting interviews, this was an experience unlike any I’d had before. And I’d certainly never driven on an unpaved road in a National Forest, littered with “No Trespassing” signs, which we took to reach the location of our case study. Nor had I practiced yoga in the middle of the woods. During this trip, I made incredible friendships, overcame fears I didn’t know I had, and basked in the bliss of pure nature.
One experience I found particularly exciting was conducting tourist interviews on the South Rim of the canyon. My research partner, Sydney, and I were eager to hear what tourists had to say about uranium mining near the park. Still, we had to work up the gumption to walk up to the first tourist and ask if they would be willing to answer a few questions. I can only imagine what the tourists thought of us, standing still in the middle of a bustling crowd, gripping clipboards like lifelines, staring warily at our potential interviewees. It took a couple of tries, but once we’d talked to one person, it was much easier to approach the rest. As a high school journalism student, I never struggled to ask students and teachers for interviews, but asking complete strangers in a national park – some of whom barely spoke English – was an entirely different story.
We were busy the whole weekend, collecting data and writing observations, but I won’t forget the moments of solace we enjoyed. Sitting on the ground between the tents on our campsite, journaling my thoughts from our first day. Curling up on a warm rock in direct sunlight, drinking a refreshing mango ginger kombucha. Lying on a bench in complete darkness, looking at the constellations that were shining uninhibited above the primitive, unpolluted campground.
This experience was an amazing opportunity to not only carry on the research I had been working on all semester, but also to spend a few days enjoying peace in a beautiful place, all the while sharing stories and making memories with an incredible group of researchers.
Emmalyn Meyer
